The search for Miss Eastwood, a pageant that beats on against the current

At first blush, The Weekly Times Granny Smith Festival Queen Quest isn't what it once was.

Just five finalists made it to the Eastwood Shopping Centre on Saturday to find out who would be crowned this year's Miss Eastwood.

By the time radio announcer and emcee Stephen Sim ("the voice of Ryde") called a dozen-odd dignitaries up to join him on stage, there weren't many left in the crowd. In the front row, an older lady was reading Summer's End by Danielle Steele.

Lucy Fang, 17, was crowned as this year's Miss Eastwood on Saturday ahead of the Granny Smith Festival.Credit:Steven Siewert

But what this pageant lacks in size it makes up in spirit. For 32 years, young women of the Ryde shire have vied for the title of Granny Smith Queen. And despite the changing times - and some local councillors' attempts to shut the whole thing down - organisers persevere.

Advertisement

"Quite a few people call it a beauty quest but it's never been that," says John Booth, the 87-year-old founder of the pageant who still runs it through his local newspaper The Weekly Times.

"It's based on community knowledge and so on. If they don't know who Granny Smith was, they immediately get scrubbed off in the eyes of the judging panel."

For the uninitiated, Granny Smith was Maria Ann Smith, a resident of the area who in 1868 "accidentally" grew the first batch of green apples that now bear her name.

The annual festival, which takes place this Saturday, has grown to become one of the city's largest events, attracting about 100,000 people to the streets of Eastwood. Organisers say it is second only to the Royal Easter Show.

A colourful fixture in the community, Mr Booth is instantly recognisable in his trademark bowler hat from London, embroidered with his newspaper's logo and a band that holds his business cards.

Mr Booth often uses his newspaper to rail against climate change ("a great hoax") and daylight savings, which he describes as "messing with the clocks, watches and time pieces".

In 2015, he was awarded a "Matehood" by former prime minister Tony Abbott during the short-lived reprise of knights and dames. The following year he was cleared of giving false evidence to an Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry.

Labor councillors are suspicious about Mr Booth's pageant. In 2014, then councillor George Simon - now assistant general secretary of NSW Labor - called for the "archaic" event to be killed off.

This being the City of Ryde, political vendettas are never far from the surface. Last year's pageant winner Divya Ahlawat was keen to stress: "It's disappointing that the Labor Party actively boycott this event when its intention is to uplift women."

De'ann Hespe, who has chaired the Granny Smith Festival for all of its 34 years, insists the Queen Quest is no beauty pageant - although entrants "have got to be well-presented, of course".

Last year's Miss Eastwood Divya Ahlawat said it was disappointing that Labor boycotted the pageant.Credit:Steven Siewert

Each year the winner is crowned with great fanfare at Eastwood Shopping Centre, which is owned by Yuhu Group, the company founded by billionaire property developer and political donor Huang Xiangmo.

The contest is open to women over the age of 16. There is also a "Gladesville Teen Queen" quest held each year in December for girls under 19. Previous winners include the first female Wiggle, Emma Watkins, and weather presenter Magdalena Roze.

This year's Miss Eastwood winner, 17-year-old PLC Pymble student Lucy Fang of Marsfield, said she would use the $1000 prize money from Yuhu Group to restart a local reading program for young children. She also gets to lead Saturday's Granny Smith Festival parade.

"I'm so excited to use this opportunity to give back to my community," she said.